By now, some of you have already had the chance to play a demo version of Titan Quest II at Gamescom. But even if you haven’t, we want to use this month’s update to give you a look at the content included in the demo and what it means for our approach to quests, narrative, and exploration. [b]Introducing the Story[/b] [b]In Medias Res[/b] The Gamescom demo starts in the middle of the action. In the full game, you will play a short prologue chapter before washing ashore at the point where the Gamescom demo begins. This is a more narrative-driven section of the game, as it introduces the player to two major characters, their main quest goal for a new chapter, and the overall chapter conflict. The player character wakes up on a strange shore, crawling with monsters, having just narrowly escaped Nemesis’s wrath. They have a mission to seek the Moirai, the goddesses of Fate, to learn how to defeat Nemesis, but with little idea where they are or how to find the Moirai, they first have to explore their surroundings. It soon becomes clear that all is not well here. Evidence of recent destruction litters the beach, and there are ichthian battle parties on the prowl. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/d0761874e4d8943e7c88fdea04b34ef53da7d647.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/d0761874e4d8943e7c88fdea04b34ef53da7d647.png[/img][/url] [b]An Ally[/b] Fortunately, the player discovers that they are not entirely alone. This section of the game introduces the player character to the divine horse Areion for the first time. Areion is the son of Poseidon and Demeter, and he once belonged to the mighty Herakles. But currently, he is trapped in a small charm. Areion acts as the player character’s guide to the world of Titan Quest II, seeking to advise and protect the player on their quest to defeat Nemesis. He features heavily in this section, where he is first introduced, but takes on more of a supporting role as the game goes on. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/679483db9ad20321d6c3050b3c25c7f055fdf7a4.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/679483db9ad20321d6c3050b3c25c7f055fdf7a4.png[/img][/url] [b]A Missing God[/b] With Areion’s help, the player learns that they need a god’s assistance to open the gates to the Moirai temple. Fortunately, Areion has an old friend in the area: Glaukos, god of seafarers. Unfortunately, it seems Glaukos has gone missing. The demo ends before the player can find out what happened to Glaukos, but the search for the god is a major element of the main questline of this chapter of Titan Quest II. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/a24a5f98f0d978352df79e6efffed495be3760eb.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/a24a5f98f0d978352df79e6efffed495be3760eb.png[/img][/url] [b]The Ichthian Threat[/b] In addition to the player character’s personal goal to find Glaukos and reach the Moirai, this section of the game also introduces the central conflict of this region. The ichthians, monstrous fish-men, have managed to sabotage a dam and flood the farmlands below. Pyrgos village, the main settlement in the region, sits high atop the cliffs, but still needs protection from ichthians coming up from the beaches. The player character is pulled into helping with Pyrgos’s defenses by an eccentric old man named Philon. [url={STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/f1faf4021f3de1d5671a9ef97a29eac766d8ac43.png][img]{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/44490409/f1faf4021f3de1d5671a9ef97a29eac766d8ac43.png[/img][/url] [b]Quests, Events, and Exploration[/b] The Gamescom demo shows off many of the different content types featured in Titan Quest II. [b]Fated Quests[/b] We call our main questline “Fated Quests,” because they are destined to be completed, and they tell the story of the player character’s battle with Nemesis. These quests tend to feature the bigger narrative moments of the game, but also some of our most exciting gameplay. Big boss fights, dramatic escapes, tricky encounters, and one-of-a-kind events serve to make these quests memorable and fun to play. In the Gamescom demo, the quest “A Strange Shore,” in which the player is introduced to Areion and Philon, is a Fated Quest, and it acts as the backbone of the demo. But there’s much more in store for players who wander off the beaten path. [b]World Quests[/b] The Fates do not dictate everything. The world of Titan Quest II is full of opportunities for heroism, glory, or personal enrichment. World quests are discovered both through exploration and talking to NPCs you encounter on the way. Players who reached the end of the Gamescom demo were able to find the world quest “Cages in the Dark” and free some of the very important citizens of Pyrgos from the ichthians. World Quests can take a lot of different forms. They can focus on a mechanic, a mini-boss, a character, a twist, piece of mythology, or the central conflict of the chapter. You might find yourself tangling with a treacherous naiad, fighting the ghost of an ancient war hero, or saving someone’s life from a Gorgon snakebite. Our World Quests are designed to be exploration-friendly. For example, if the player finds the cave full of prisoners in the Gamescom demo before they find the official questgiver, they can free the prisoners right away; no need to wait for a questgiver to ask them to. [b]Exploration Events[/b] One of our big goals for Titan Quest II is to encourage and reward exploration. So besides our Fated and World Quests, we’ve included Exploration Events throughout the world. These are small encounters--a talking jar, a statue of Herakles surrounded by mysterious offering bowls, an encounter with a battle-hardened ichthian commander--which do not get tracked in your quest log and which are designed to be found and completed while exploring. Paying attention to your surroundings pays off, as each of these events has a unique flavor and rewards you for completing it. The Gamescom demo features four of these Exploration Encounters. Which ones did you find? We hope you liked this look behind the curtain of the content featured in our Gamescom demo. See you next month!